Chapter 5 #2
“I know the last two days were tough on you with travel and stuff, but I sent you a long email about the plans,” Grant said. “The only things set in stone are the things Dad laid out in his will.” He met her gaze. “If there’s something you’d like to change, or want to add, let us know.”
“Thanks.” Riley felt a rush of unexpected gratitude toward her siblings.
They were trying—really trying—to include her, to make up for years of distance.
It was more consideration than she’d expected.
But standing there in her mother’s dining room, she still felt like an outsider looking in, unsure of her place in the family she’d walked away from so long ago. “Whatever needs doing, I can help.”
“Right, because you’ve been around to help with anything for the last twelve years,” her mother said flatly. “You don’t get to just show up after over a decade and act like you know what your father would have wanted.”
“Elizabeth, that’s not fair. She’s always—”
“Do not make excuses for my daughter.” Her mother lifted her wine glass and took a long sip, glaring at her husband, before shifting it back to Riley. “You didn’t even come home for his birthday last year. Or the year before that. Or ever. When was the last time you even saw him?”
“Less than a year ago.” She stiffened her spine. “But I think you know that.” God, she hated her mother’s games. Everyone in this room knew about her trips with her father. But her mother preferred to perpetuate the concept that Riley had run off and never once looked back.
“Fighting isn’t getting us anywhere,” Grant said, running his fingers through his hair. “Riley’s here, and we all know Dad would want her to be a part of this. Erin and I, despite our differences, want her to be involved. He was our father.”
Wow. Grant had never stood up for her, except for maybe when a bully had picked on her at school. And that hadn’t happened often.
“You don’t know the first thing about him, or any of us. You disappeared because you thought we were beneath you. That this town was beneath you.” Her mother’s conviction was as sharp as her nails.
Riley clenched her fists. “You don’t have the first clue as to why I left, and that has nothing to do with Dad’s funeral plans. I’m here now. Dad would want all of us to get along. For him,” Riley snapped, the heat rising fast.
“What do you know about getting along. Every time I call, you’re usually too busy or start a fight.” Her mother reached for the bottle and topped off her glass.
“That’s not true,” Riley said.
“Please, Mom,” Erin whispered. “This isn’t about you or the past. It’s about Dad.”
“Since when do you take… oh, never mind. Your little sister is always working on half-truths and even fewer facts,” her mother said.
Riley took a breath. “Fine. But let’s not rewrite history.”
“We’re not here to start a war,” Parker said, trying to smooth things over. “We’re here to honor Sean.”
Chad cleared his throat. “Why don’t we focus on what still needs to be done? We haven’t finalized the music. Or the eulogy.”
“I don’t want to give the eulogy, but I’d like to say something at the service,” Riley said quickly.
“No.” Her mom’s answer came without hesitation. “That won’t be happening. You’ve been silent for twelve years, and that’s the way it’s going to stay.”
“Mother.” Grant leaned back and folded his arms across his chest and stared at her.
“That’s not true. Besides, Erin and I discussed this last night.
We thought it would be nice if the three of us said something together.
We’re his children. That’s how it should be.
A formal eulogy can be given by…” he let out an exasperated sigh, “… Walter. They were very close, and while we all know I’m not a fan of the Boones, it’s what Dad wanted. ”
Well, hell just froze over.
“So, no one has any consideration for my feelings in this.” Her mother had the audacity to wipe her tearless cheeks. She’d mastered the art of the fake cry years ago. It had always grated on Riley’s last nerve.
“We’re trying to think about everyone,” Grant said, softly.
“She has no idea what she’s put this family through. I bet she doesn’t even know your kids' names,” her mother said.
Erin gasped, clutching her pendant. “Of course, she does. She speaks to them on Fa—"
“Grant’s are Jessica and Randy, and Erin’s are Nathan and Willa. I even know about when—”
“Just because you spent a few hours having the Boones fill you in on our lives doesn’t mean you know us anymore. Do you know how heartbreaking that is for a mother?”
The words hit Riley like a knife. Each one designed to cut deep.
She’d tried so hard to stay connected, to remember birthdays and milestones from thousands of miles away.
But her mother was right—knowing facts wasn’t the same as being present.
All those FaceTime calls and carefully remembered details couldn’t make up for missing first steps, school plays, scraped knees that needed bandaging.
The guilt she’d been carrying for twelve years crashed over her with fresh intensity.
“That’s enough, Mom,” Grant said. “We’re all upset, and this isn’t helping.”
“Let’s all take a moment to settle down.” Parker pulled out the chair next to his wife and took her hand. “We need to really consider what Sean would want here and set aside our personal feelings for the next few days. We can deal with those later.”
Riley took in a shaky breath, grateful for Parker’s intervention.
“You’re right. Dad wouldn’t want us fighting.
” She looked around the table at her siblings, seeing exhaustion in their faces that probably matched her own.
“We’re all grieving. We’re all hurting. Maybe we can just… try to get through this together?”
“Agreed.” Grant held her gaze and smiled. It wasn’t a big one, but it was enough. “For Dad.”
“Well, you can agree to that all you want, but we’re still in a holding pattern.” Elizabeth set her wine glass down. “Has anyone heard if the ME has released your father’s body yet? Kind of hard to have a funeral without one.”
Riley bit down on the inside of her cheek. Sometimes her mother just didn’t know when to zip it.
“No. Still waiting,” Grant said.
“This is ridiculous. I don’t understand.” Her mother took a nice, long, sip of her wine… more like half the glass.
“Doctor Gavin is still deciding if he’s going to do an autopsy or not,” Grant said.
If there was ever a time to bring this up, it was now. If she didn’t, she’d never forgive herself. “I want to ask Doctor Gavin to just do the autopsy.”
Grant’s expression hardened.
Elizabeth’s wine glass hit the table with a sharp clink. “How dare you. I bet you’re the reason they’re holding your father’s body.”
“Mom, she’s not the reason.” Grant ran a shaky hand over his face. “We all heard what the emergency doctor said, and we all spoke our piece on the matter. It’s the ME’s decision, unless one of us changes our mind.”
Her mother slammed her fist on the table, abruptly standing.
“I will not let you do that to your father,” her voice rose, vibrating and bouncing off the walls.
“He avoided surgery on his knee because he didn’t want doctors opening him up.
You have some nerve coming in here after everything—after being gone all this time—you think you know what he would’ve wanted?
I might not have been married to him when he died, but I do have enough respect for the father of my children not to desecrate his body. ”
“I think Dad would’ve wanted the truth. He was always telling us kids how important the truth was,” Erin said quietly, with her head down, fiddling with her nails like a terrified toddler.
“You’re going to take her side in this?” Her mother’s voice cracked with fury.
“It’s not about sides, Ma.” Erin lifted her gaze. “It’s about knowing what happened. About finding out why Daddy died before he even turned seventy. We all know heart disease runs in the family, but what if it’s something else? Something that could affect your grandchildren?”
“I think Dad would understand if we requested one,” Riley added.
Her mother pointed her polished finger in Riley’s direction.
“Maybe if you had been here—if you’d cared at all—you’d know more about your father.
You would’ve also known he wasn’t well. He’d been tired.
Complaining of chest pains. Your brother had been bugging him to go to the doctor, but he wouldn’t. ”
“That’s not quite what—”
“Your father was a stubborn old man,” her mom interrupted Grant.
“That doesn’t mean we don’t all deserve answers,” Riley said. The tears came fast, hot, and silent.
“I’ve had enough. Get out,” her mother said with more bite to her words than the day Riley left for Alaska.
“This is my house, and I will not be disrespected. You’ve caused enough trouble, and you’ve only been back one day.
” She sat down and snagged her wine. “Grant, Erin, please talk some sense into your little sister before it’s too late. ”
Riley couldn’t form words. She couldn’t argue, nor did she have the strength to do so. She turned and walked out, blinking back tears as she shut the front door behind her. The afternoon sun burned against her skin as she crossed the path to where she’d parked Bryson’s truck.
“Riley, wait up,” Grant called as he jogged in her direction. “I’m sorry about what Mom did back there.”
“That wasn’t about Dad. That was about her, and me, and the fact that I was so angry at her for betraying him all those years ago.” Riley leaned against the side of the pickup. “She’s never let it go that I chose to live with Dad.”
“And you’ve never forgiven her.” Grant eyes narrowed, slightly. “You’ve always come at the rest of us like we’re the grudge-holders. But you took off and barely looked back. Mom’s hurt, and it comes out sideways and all dramatic.”